ALL IN A DAYS WORK

WHENEVER the British Army moves out of a country, the Red Cross moves in bringing emergency relief to the victims of conflict and other natural disasters: 15 million people in Iraq and more than one million in Afghanistan.

The British Red Cross is part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, the world's largest independent humanitarian movement, with 300,000 employees, 97 million volunteers and a presence in 179 countries worldwide. At any one time, the British Red Cross has around 100 staff (or relief delegates) working overseas.

Jason Parker, 32, is based in Afghanistan. "I work in north Afghanistan in a region just south of Mazar-e Sharif," he says. "We provide assistance to 73,000 families. That's around 330,000 people. Most of the areas we work in are fairly difficult to access; the roads are bad, the terrain is mountainous and the altitude is high.

"There has been conflict in this area recently. There's also been severe drought since 1999. These people live an agricultural lifestyle, which is fairly precarious at the best of times, but over the course of this conflict, they've had to sell their animals and seeds to have money to buy food.

"Last year, the Red Cross delivered 53,000 tonnes of food to Afghanistan and 3,200 tonnes of seeds. We provide each family with a cereal (either wheat or rice), a pulse (either split peas or red beans), cooking oil and salt.

We also deliver wheat seeds and chickpeas to the farmers so they can be a bit more selfsustainable. In the winter, we would also provide non-food assistance like blankets.

"My job is mostly project management. I check we have the correct number of food items for each of the 20 sites we deliver to, I liaise with the truck drivers, make sure that the villagers arrive at the same time as the trucks, and try to anticipate any problems. We are always present when the villagers receive the items and we always get a receipt. The entire project lasts about eight days.

"Working as a relief delegate is a great way of actually meeting the people that the Red Cross assists. I spent five years in the London HQ: it could be quite abstract whereas this is really hands- on. At the end of each mission, when you see an empty distribution site and up to 12,000 people going home with their goods, you feel well rewarded."

by Nadia Raafat "ORGANISATIONAL skills, attention to detail and an affinity with people," says Jason Parker. "You must also have a great deal of cultural sensitivity as you will be working with people from a diverse range of cultures."

The Red Cross says: "Candidates must be over 25 and in sound mental and physical health. We require three years' experience in a relevant field. A degree education and a foreign language are desirable but not essential (www.redcross.org.uk).

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